During the 10:30 service on Sunday, May 22, our high school seniors were invited up for a gift, Rebecca McLaughlin’s Confronting Christianity, and a blessing given by youth minister David Gilbert:

“Father, we want to thank you for our time here together this morning, for all the friends these young people have made through their many years of school, youth group, Sunday school, and church. For all the days of laughter and fun, and all the times of great discovery and learning.

“Lord Jesus, we thank you for all you have given them––the energy and skill so that these young adults can graduate high school. Thank you for their teachers, their mentors, and especially for their family and loved ones, who celebrated with them in their great joys and comforted them in their dark valleys. We thank you for these graduates and we give them to you in prayer this morning. As this chapter of their life closes, a new one begins.

St. Philip’s Youth Group warmly invites all rising 6th graders (current 5th graders) to join our middle school youth group for the last meeting before we break for summer! We meet from 6:00–8:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall this Friday. Bring a friend and join the fun!

In Christ,

David Gilbert and the Youth Staff

Registration for the Very Best (week of the) Summer is open now! Current 3K–5th-grade students are invited to have fun, make friends, and learn about how our love for Jesus can create a ripple effect that can impact the world around us. Click the link below to register your little one or learn more! The fee is $40 per participant (pay-what-you-can option available).

On Tuesday, June 28, eat a good breakfast and a nice, big lunch and come on down to St. Philip’s to give the gift of life––one unit of blood can save up to three lives! Every day, blood donors help patients of all ages: accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those battling cancer. In fact, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. Click here to read just a few of their stories.

Walk-ins are always welcome, but making an appointment will help minimize or eliminate your wait time. We also need a few volunteers to greet donors warmly, help with registration, and keep the snack table stocked with goodies.

About Theology on Tap: Theology on Tap is a gathering for young adults in Charleston who long for meaningful conversation about life and God. We’ll be meeting again Tuesday, June 7, at 7:00 in the Whiskey Room at Henry’s on the Market for drinks (cash bar), apps (provided), and conversation. We will continue meeting through the summer, but note that we are straying occasionally from our biweekly schedule.

At each of our meetings, we welcome your questions, which you can submit anonymously through a texting app. Free parking at the church parking lot is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Bring a friend!

.For more information about the conference and to join other St. Philippians who are attending, please contact Susan Keller or Gerry McCord.

Connoisseurs Tours invites you to enjoy a specially curated tour of Civil War battle sites with the Rev. Jeffrey S. Miller as your guide! The battles of Antietam, Harpers Ferry, and the three-day Battle of Gettysburg marked a turning point not only in the course of the American Civil War, but also for the future of the United States of America. This journey will deepen your understanding of this monumental conflict that left no American untouched. In the evenings, unwind in comfort at carefully selected accommodations in the heart of this historic region.

Ready to book or learn more? Contact Connoisseurs Tours Guest Service Coordinator Chandler Scott at (800) 856-1045, ext. 4, or chandler@connoisseurstours.com.

The Rev. Jeffrey S. Miller will be preaching this Sunday at our services of Holy Communion at 8:15 and 10:30 a.m.

The church office will be closed and the cemetery will be not be open to visitors on Monday, May 30, in observance of Memorial Day.

In the event of a pastoral emergency, please call or text the Rev. Bill Christian at (843) 327-0791.

If you recently set your sunglasses down in the work room of the church office building (first floor––the room at the end of the hall that looks like a miniature Staples) and you would like them back, please come claim them posthaste. Organist and choirmaster Chris Walchesky somewhat begrudgingly agreed to model them for a social media post, but he got so many compliments on his new look that he may not be willing to part with them so easily. To be safe, you may want to provide proof of ownership and perhaps a 500–1000-word essay about why your sunglasses belong with you instead of him. Good luck!

If you follow St. Philip's on Facebook and Instagram, you already knew that Chris had upped his accessory game. If you don't follow us ... why not? Take a minute to follow us now so that you, too, can be among the first to hear about upcoming events, schedule changes, and "news" like this.

Prayer appointments are available with trained prayer ministers for personal needs related to healing for physical, emotional, or spiritual needs. All meetings are confidential and can be arranged by contacting Juanita Orvin (juanitaorvin@gmail.com) or Frenchie Richards frichards7@aol.com.

Call Suzanne McCord, head of the prayer chain, and she will pass your request on to members of the chain:

suzanne1959@gmail.com or (843) 224-1630.

June 5 ~ Choral Evensong (5:00 p.m.)

June 13-16 ~ Vacation Bible School (VBS)

June 28 ~ Red Cross Blood Drive (12:00–6:00 p.m.)

September 11 ~ Rally Sunday (Sunday school, Rector’s Forum resume)

October 28-30 ~ Parish Retreat at Kanuga

We pray for the sick: Arthur Applegate, Jean Carlton, Judith Carr, Keenan Cummings, Maffett Dowd, Sally Fayard, Elizabeth Flowers, Mary Forbes, Debbie Foster, George Gulyas, Mary Anne Hanckel, Dara Heikes, Susan Hemminger, George Hunter, Robert Johnson, Robert Kizer, Claudia Kolster, Lisa Lawton, John Legare, Connor Lowndes, Molly Margaret O’Quinn, Baby Zan Murphey, John Murray, Ulrika O’Neil, Bill Phillipps, Alfred Pinckney, Valerie Rouillard, Barbara Sainsbury, Fran Sanders, Jay Schrimpf, Sydney Severance, Pete Sperr, Margaret Swanson, Jenny White, Lindsey Wing, and Harrison Woods.

We pray for our expectant parents: Anna Gray and Ralph Baker, Felicia and Tim Evans, Carter and Foxy Foxworth, Lauren and Ashton Phillips.

We pray for protection for Becca Baird, Chris and Julia Beasley, Graham Blunt, Henry Clayton, Ben Colyer, David Daughtridge, Morgan and Mason Herring, Andrew Kane, Quin Kane, Horry Kerrison, Frazier Kulze, John Mason, Zach McFadden, Philip Middleton III, Jackson Miller, Edward Pritchard, Nathaniel Rollings, David Scott, and John Self serving in our Armed Forces.

We pray for our home and world missions: Star Gospel Mission, Lowcountry Pregnancy Center, Suzy McCall and LAMB, for the medical missions to Honduras, for ministry to victims of genocide and AIDS in Rwanda, for the Persecuted Church, for Anglican Frontier Missions, for Uganda Christian University Partners, for Water Mission and the Global Water Center, and for St. Jean Baptiste, our sister church, and the schools in Haiti.